Education Commons^™

What Information From Pisa Is Useful For Teachers? How Can Pisa Help Our Students To Become More Proficient?, Juliette Mendelovits, Dara Searle, Tom Lumley

Juliette Mendelovits

A frequent objection to large-scale testing programs, both national and international, is that they are used as an instrument of control, rather than as a means of providing information to effect change. Moreover, concerns about large-scale testing often take the form of objection to the specific characteristics of the assessments as being prescriptive and proscriptive, leading to a narrowing of the curriculum and the spectre of 'teaching to the test' to the exclusion of more important educational content. Taking PISA reading literacy as its focus, this paper proposes, on the contrary, that a coherent assessment system is valuable in so …

The Short-Term Effects Of The Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship On Student Outcomes, Timothy Bartik, Marta Lachowska

Marta Lachowska

No abstract provided.

The Short-Term Effects Of The Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship On Student Outcomes, Timothy Bartik, Marta Lachowska

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.

What Do Students Say About Learning With Technologies?, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle

This paper outlines some of the findings from Australian research which listened to and analysed the views and expectations of students within Australian education and training institutions about learning with technologies. Students in primary and secondary schools, vocational education and training (VET) institutions, international students studying education in universities, pre-service teacher education students and teachers in their first five years of teaching contributed to a national 'student voice' research project based upon their current experiences and views. Data was collected through online surveys and focus groups. The research shows that students and early career educators have access to and use …

Learning To Teach With Technologies What Pre-Service Teachers Say About Their Experiences, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle (consultant)

It is the intention of the Australian Government, that over the next five years, as a result of the Digital Education Revolution, all secondary schools in Australia will have achieved computer to student ratios of one-to-one. This investment in infrastructure brings with it many challenges. Two of these facing Australian educators are: In what ways can advantage be made of such a significant investment in schools’ infrastructure?; and What preparation do pre-service teachers require to enable them to meaningfully include technologies in their classroom activities? To provide some insights into these two questions, this paper draws on data collected from …

National Conversations: Listening To Students’ Views Of Learning With Technologies, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle (consultant)

The Digital Education Revolution is a key policy plank of the Rudd government. It is intended to develop students’ capabilities to learn with technologies. Little Australian research though, has focused upon the views and expectations of students about their learning that includes technologies. This paper draws on the findings from the 2008 research project, Listening to students and educators views of learning with technologies. This Australian national research project, funded by the Department for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) set out to listen to and analyse what Australian students in primary and secondary schools, in vocational education and training …

What Information From Pisa Is Useful For Teachers? How Can Pisa Help Our Students To Become More Proficient?, Juliette Mendelovits, Dara Searle, Tom Lumley

Dr Tom Lumley

A frequent objection to large-scale testing programs, both national and international, is that they are used as an instrument of control, rather than as a means of providing information to effect change. Moreover, concerns about large-scale testing often take the form of objection to the specific characteristics of the assessments as being prescriptive and proscriptive, leading to a narrowing of the curriculum and the spectre of 'teaching to the test' to the exclusion of more important educational content. Taking PISA reading literacy as its focus, this paper proposes, on the contrary, that a coherent assessment system is valuable in so …

How Mobile Phones Help Learning In Secondary Schools, Elizabeth Hartnell-Young, Nadja Heym

Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

This research took place in 2007-8, at a time when mobile phones had become small, personal computers, providing clock, calendar, games, music player, Bluetooth connection, Internet access, and high-quality camera functions in addition to voice calls and short messaging. The Mobile Life Youth Report (2006) found that by the time they reach secondary school, 91% of 12 year olds in the UK have a mobile phone. Even though recent phone models, sometimes called ‘smart phones’, allow users to read pdf formats, spreadsheets and word-processed files, they have been more usually seen as disruptive, rather than useful, in school education

The Impact Of Eportfolios On Learning, Elizabeth Hartnell-Young, Colin Harrison, Charles Crook, Gordon Joyes, Lindsay Davies, Tony Fisher, Richard Pemberton, Angela Smallwood

Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

This report presents the potential impact of e-portfolios on learning and teaching. It is based on case studies of eight projects that are in the early stages of e-portfolio use within the primary, secondary, further education (FE), higher education (HE) and adult and community learning (ACL) sectors. The report is primarily aimed at policy-makers. Harnessing Technology: Transforming Learning and Children’s Services, the e-strategy published by the DfES in 2005, sets a target of providing a ‘personalised online learning space for every learner that can encompass a personal portfolio’; this should be available to every school by 2008 (DfES, 2005). In …

My Grandfather Is Dead: Narratives Of Culture And Curriculum, Elizabeth Hartnell-Young, Frank Vetere

Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

Curriculum, the term used to denote a course of study, has been understood in recent years as a documented program developed by experts and managed by an education authority. In many cases this has resulted in a focus on the experience and the goals of dominant cultures, so that minority groups do not feel well-represented in the curriculum. In this paper we explore the possibility of young people using mobile devices to enrich their curriculum by contributing content that encapsulates aspects of their lives. In a short project, we provided indigenous secondary school students from both urban and isolated communities …

Does Eighth-Grade Mathematics Teaching In The United States Align With The Nctm Standards? Results From The Timss 1995 And 1999 Video Studies, Jennifer Jacobs, James Hiebert, Karen Givvin, Hilary Hollingsworth, Helen Garner, Diana Wearne

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

Debates about the future of school mathematics in the United States often centre on whether standards-based instruction in improving or undermining students' achievement. Critical for making progress in these debates is information about the actual nature of classroom practice in US classrooms. This article focuses on one key element of classroom practice teaching, and presents the results of two studies of randomly selected, nationally representative US eighth grade mathematics lessons that were videotaped as part of the TIMSS 1995 and 1999 video studies. Analyses compare features of teaching found in these lessons with pedagogical recommendations for middle school teachers in …

Ict Acheivers Program, Anne-Marie Chase, Greg Powell

Dr Anne-Marie Chase

A Survey Of Graphics Calculator Use In Victorian Secondary Schools, Alla Routitsky, Patrick Tobin

Dr Alla Routitsky

In 1997, Victoria became the first state to permit the use of graphics calculators in final external examinations. The action was seen as radical for both social and educational reasons. Concerns were raised about the propriety of using the calculators and whether their use would add to existing educational disparities. With the support of the Board of Studies, a survey of secondary schools was undertaken to gauge the response to this decision and inform further action on graphics calculator use in mathematical courses.

School Focused Professional Development And The Interaction Of Teachers, Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

This study is concerned with school focused professional development in Fairhills High School. Data from teachers in the school has been analysed in order to provide a basis for planning a professional development program in the light of government initiatives. In particular, the study analyses the communication patterns within the school in an attempt to ascertain the extent of collaboration which occurs between teachers, and the factors which influence professional interaction. Recommendations for professional development at Fairhills High School are based on discussion of the data. In addition, the study suggests implications for all schools. The results reported in this …